


Valerian

by HeadFullOfFantasy



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Attack on Titan AU, Bonding, Bottom!Nines, Characters from dbh, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Connections, Minor Character Death, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Smut, Titan Shifters, Titan shifter Nines, Top!Gavin, a lot of that, aot - Freeform, at first, bottom!Gavin, forced team, reed900, saving each other's asses, survey corps soldier Gavin, top!Nines, we do the switcheroo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:40:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27740080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeadFullOfFantasy/pseuds/HeadFullOfFantasy
Summary: “HEY!” the soldier yelled as he swung himself as close as possible.With a growl the titan turned towards Gavin, ice-blue irises focusing on the human in front of him who barely had the size of his hand. The sight still made the soldier step back a little with weak knees, even after months of getting used to Nines’ titan form.Gavin is proud to be a survey corps soldier and one of the best on top of that. But all of that is taken from him when Kamski demands the best of the best for 'project shifter', working with the few people that can turn into a titan. He finds himself in front of one of these giants, even taller than the others, and quickly learns that the ice-eyed titan doesn't have himself under control. And Gavin seems to be the only one that can calm the beast raging inside the shifter.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 27
Kudos: 80
Collections: Reed900 Reverse Big Bang





	1. Prologue - Wouldn't have it any other way

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey and welcome to my work for the Reed900 ReverseBigBang! My lovely partner and amazing artist in this is the dear [Xan](https://twitter.com/hanguanw) which you can find via the link on twitter. She really outdid herself! You can find the [artwork](https://twitter.com/hanguanw/status/1332325228584833024?s=20) below, imbedded in the fic, but please go visit her page and drop a like!  
> Thanks a lot [Sun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunkiller44/pseuds/Sunkiller44) for helping me out and betaing the fic! They wrote a fic for the RBB as well, you can check it out [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27327421/chapters/66767005)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am really excited to be able to finally share this work with you now! I don't know if I will be able to regularly update the story, but I will definitely finish it! Chapter 2 is ready!
> 
> Just so aren't confused along the fic: I oriented myself on the AoT military system for the ranks. If you wonder why I call Gavin an Officer, it's because that is the rank one below a Lieutenant.  
> Captain - Fowler  
> Lieutenant - Hank  
> Officer - Gavin  
> Corporal - Tina, Chris
> 
> But now enjoy the fic!

The air rushed past him, whistling in his ears while the ground came closer and closer, making him grip the handles of his blades tight as he jumped down the roof of the old church, now just a sad pile of stones and tiles, like a memorial of what had happened to the people living here many years ago. In his fall, the coat around his shoulders fluttered behind him like dark-green wings, the emblem of freedom displayed on the fabric. A few meters above the stone, he shot a hook towards the house across the old street which latched onto the stone gutter and broke his fall in the process. The soldier felt the well-known sensation of G-forces pulling on his body when the rope became taut to make him swing over the ground and catapult into the air. The moment he flew past the roofs blocking his vision, the target came in sight. A five-meter specimen, ugly face turned away from its attacker, black hair shaggy and dull. It swayed like a toddler on chubby legs, yet its hands reached out like a deadly threat, ready to devour everything in its path.

Gavin felt how he slowed down in the air, a tell-tale sign that he had almost reached the highest point of his swing. Readying his blades, he prepared himself to rush down onto the neck of the titan and kill it with a quick slash of his weapons, only to see the giant turn last minute. Its disgusting yellow eyes stared at him, pupil the size of a tree log as it was fixated on his outline. Luckily Gavin’s reflexes were fast enough and he managed to shoot his grappling hook at one of the chimneys close by. The momentum of the fall as well as the pull of the rope yanked his body to the side, just in time to escape the fat hand reaching for him. Flying up and around the titan, the soldier unfixed the rope so that he fell down again, but this time directly towards the neck of the predator thirsting for his blood. With a swift move Gavin lunged out and buried his blades deep into the flesh below, cutting through the essential part of the monster and killing it as a result. The titan’s arms slackened immediately as it began to fall towards the ground like cut down timber. Before it could pull the soldier with it though, the man already jumped off its back and let his hooks pull him to the closest roof. Right when Gavin’s feet touched the tiles, he heard a loud thump behind him, indicating that the monster had hit the ground.

_One down, five to go_

The soldier looked around over the roofs of the old abandoned town. Last time he had seen another person of his team was twenty minutes ago when he and Hank had parted in different directions. Connor’s outline was visible several streets away at the other end of the district, but he couldn’t find his own partner even though he felt him being close by. Only thing he could make out were the silhouettes of four titans wandering through the streets.

_Four … phck FOUR!_

Right when Gavin realized it should be five, he heard a low growl behind him and a hot stinky breath against his back. Holding his blades with a grip that turned his knuckles white, he spun around, ready to fight off the 8-meter titan opening its jaws to decapitate him. Drool ran down its chin, yellow teeth so close to the human that he could see the remains of a uniform between them. Gavin’s heartbeat rocketed up even faster as he realized he wouldn’t have enough time to dodge the attack. He lifted his arms above his head in an attempt to ram his blades into the rotting gums threatening to close around him, eyes shut tight to protect them from the acid-like burn of the beast’s breath while he expected the inevitable.

But the snap of the jaws never came. Instead, he heard familiar thundering footsteps shaking the ground and an angry roar before the wet heat disappeared around him. The soldier opened his eyes again, just in time to witness the 8-meter titan being kicked away like a ball by a giant leg. Gavin’s attacker didn’t get a lot of time to recollect itself as gigantic hands grabbed the titan and teared its head clean off.

The human was still panting heavily from the shock of finding a monster so close behind himself, but his breath slowed down a bit while glancing up at the 19-meter beast in front of him. It still growled in fury, eyes wild with rage and pupils the shape of slits as if it could burn the remains of the dead titan in front of it. A strand of dark brown hair hung into its forehead, rows of sharp teeth bared and flashing in the sun as it didn’t have any lips.

Gavin shot both hooks towards the roof closest to the huge titan to make his way over there. The giant was still ripping his opponent apart to tiny steaming shreds, howling and roaring like a mad beast.

“HEY!” the soldier yelled as he swung himself as close as possible.

With a growl the titan turned towards Gavin, ice-blue irises focusing on the human in front of him who was barely the size of his hand. The sight still made the soldier step back a little with weak knees, even after months of getting used to Nines’ titan form.

“Nines, stop it! I’m okay, you have to calm down!” Gavin could sense his partner being close to going feral, emotions a mess of hate, anger and fading fear. These sensations washing over him, which he knew to be not his own by now, tightened his chest like walls closing around him. “It’s okay, big boy, I’m here.”

With that he walked to the edge of the roof, closer to those dragon-like eyes and put away his blades. Nines’ pupils dilated back to their normal round form and away from the needle slits indicating he was about to lose control.

One of those giant hands reached out with the palm open for Gavin to get on, what the soldier gladly accepted. It still felt weird to step on a surface made of flesh and bone, fingers around him like prison bars. Only a few months ago he would have never gone into a death trap like that; the hands of a titan were the most dangerous parts of them, always lunging out in the attempt to catch and kill their prey. Humans.

The palm raised further up until it came to a halt in front of one giant blue eye, iris as big as a shield. The round pupil was focused on Gavin and a deep sound rumbled from Nines’ chest while the human put his own hand on his partner’s skin. A wave of relief washed over him, sent by the other.

“Everything alright, babe. Was a little absent-minded there. Thanks for looking out for me.”

The soldier felt a warm sensation in his stomach as his partner grunted again. They weren’t able to communicate whenever Nines was in his titan form, but at least they had their bond to sense the basic emotions the other was feeling. As the adrenaline slowly dwindled, Gavin wished he could hold his titan shifter close, but as long as Nines was in this form and while on the battlefield, this wasn’t possible.

“Come on, big boy. Let’s finish them.”

With that Gavin jumped off the shifter’s hand and onto his shoulder, holding tight to a strand of hair as the giant began to move towards the remaining titans they had to kill. It still felt kind of weird to move this fast, even despite the 3D-motion gear the soldier was using regularly. The earth trembled under Nines’ weight with every step he took in the direction of his targets. His partner could feel that he had the titan under his control this time, the moves were a lot more accurate and he couldn’t detect any rage threatening to pry the helm away from the shifter.

The closer they came to the next titan, the more Gavin prepared to part from his partner, muscles tense and ready to jump. Nines on the other hand didn’t slow down, he just ran towards the 6-meter titan ahead of him, though he knew what the human was planning to do and sent his recognition through their connection. Right before he reached his opponent, Gavin turned to run a few steps down the shifter’s arm, which Nines held out for him, and jumped towards the next building. Mid-air the soldier shot his grappling hook at the closest roof and swung from building to building to the next titan, a 4-meter specimen. Drawing his blades still in flight, he latched onto the monster’s back and let his weapons eat through its flesh before it knew what was attacking it. Without even twitching, it went down like a sack of potatoes.

A few streets away, Nines just crushed the other titan’s skull between his hands and making the barin matter scatter everywhere around him.

_2 down, 2 to go_

Gavin looked over to his partner and their eyes met for a second to check if the other was okay before moving on to the next target, a 9-meter titan and a 5-meter abnormal that jumped in Nines’ direction. While the soldier disabled the taller one and cut out a large piece of its neck, his partner caught the other one out of the air to rip its leg off with a disgusting sound.

The abnormal screamed and growled, but there was no pain audible in its roar, just pure rage and blood lust. It was crushed beneath Nines’ foot a few seconds later, cutting off the sound abruptly.

With the area cleared, the soldier made his way over to his partner who grumbled content at their work. Nines had himself way better under control since their last talk, Gavin could feel it.

“Alright big boy, I think we are finished here,” he called out so that the giant could hear him from his place on the roof. Their mission to clear this part of the abandoned part of the town seemed to be completed.

The shifter grunted in approval before closing his eyes. Steam began to rise from all parts of his body, blocking the sight for Gavin who had to raise an arm to protect himself from the heat radiating towards him. Hot wind ruffled through his hair and when he lowered his arm again, the titan was gone. Left were a few pieces of flesh that resembled what had been standing there a few seconds ago, strands of hair here, a bit of flesh and skin there. Out of the steaming haze appeared the silhouette of a person, upper body naked and head hanging between the shoulder.

Gavin swung to the closest roof and shot his hook up to the ridge to lower himself down the rope. Nines body was still half-way trapped in a piece of steaming flesh, with his hands embedded in his titan’s muscle and his torso only visible to the hip. The sight of toned muscle covered by milky white skin and freckles scattered on it like stars caused a blush to rise to the soldier’s ears. The shifter’s hair hung into his face, hiding it from Gavin’s view, but the survey corps soldier noticed how exhausted his partner had to be.

“Babe? Everything okay?” He lowered himself a bit more, right when Nines raised his head. The same ice-blue eyes he had stared into a few minutes ago looked up at Gavin again, clouded by a weary haze, yet with a softness showing his partner that he was thankful for his concern. They were surrounded by red lines where the titan’s muscles had been attached, leading away from the corners like rays of sunlight. A small smile lifted the edges around the shifter’s mouth as he looked up towards his partner that dangled a few meters above him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little drained.”

Gavin could hear that. The fights had impacted his partner more than he was willing to admit. Letting the rope glide through his fingers, the soldier rappelled to Nines’ level and leaned over, one hand on the rope, the other reaching out. He cupped his partner’s cheek and smiled as he felt the other lean into the touch, before shifting his weight to get even closer. Nines lifted his chin to meet Gavin’s lips, tired and without much energy, but soft as the soldier connected their mouths.

“Liar,” Gavin whispered with a smile against the shifter’s lips, “You’re pale as fuck.”

He laid his forehead against his partner’s and caressed the side of Nines’ cheek with his thumb while burying the other fingers in that ebony hair. “But you fought incredibly. I think it’s our best time so far.”

Nines huffed at that, but stretched up to nuzzle their noses together while freeing his hands from the thick strands of muscle he was still stuck in.

“I can give that right back. But Gavin?”

“Hm?”

“Please never be that inattentive again. I was scared I couldn’t reach you in time and I almost went feral again because of it.”

The soldier immediately felt a blow of guilt to his stomach as he remembered the needle-like slits Nines’ pupils had almost become once more.

“I’m sorry, babe, I should have looked out more, that was a bit dumb I know, thank you for saving my ass, I-“ Before the soldier could ramble more, he was shut up by Nines pulling him into a gentle kiss.

While Gavin melted into his partner’s touch, he thought back to a few months ago, when he would have strangled everyone even suggesting he would agree to partner up with a titan shifter, let alone being in love with one. But here he was. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the prologue so far, a brief preview on where their relationship is heading. ^^  
> 


	2. Compatibility

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 is the start of the story while the prologue was a few months into the story. I hope you enjoy the beginning!

“Phck no, Fowler, you can’t be serious right now!! You can’t expect me to leave the division and work with those freaks!”

Gavin’s fist met the wooden table with a bang, causing everything on its surface to clatter. His boss looked unimpressed though, the angry crease between his eyebrows deepening ever so slightly.

“I think what Reed is trying to say in a not so eloquent way, is that we are confused, Jeffrey,” Hank Anderson intervened before his colleague could piss off their leader even more while digging a hole for himself in the process. The older soldier laid a hand on Gavin’s shoulder to pull him back, but the man wasn’t having it and shrugged it off furiously.

“Don’t fucking touch me!!” If his ears could have steamed, they would.

“Watch your tongue, Reed! My patience isn’t eternal and you have more than enough disciplinary entries already! Don’t make me punish you like you’re a god damn rookie!!” Fowler’s voice thundered over the group of soldiers in front of him, making most of them flinch at the volume. The captain wasn’t on active duty anymore due to his missing leg, but most of them still held a great respect for the legend he had once been. Even Gavin admired the man for his knowledge he now deployed by coordinating the missions from his office, but that didn’t hold him back from speaking his mind.

Directing his anger back at his superior, he continued. “You want us to leave the survey corps to work for that suicide mission of a project without even knowing what we are supposed to do there yourself?! I want an explanation right fucking now!! And it better be a good one!”

Gavin hadn’t noticed that the room had fallen completely silent during his screaming match with his boss until now. Slow claps disrupted the silence, surprising the soldier so much he stumbled away from the desk and looked up in confusion.

He made out the outline of a man with a short bun and sharp features leaning against the doorframe. Still paying the scene in front of him applause, the stranger entered the room with a smug smile. He had blue-grey eyes and rings in the shell of his ear, but the thing standing out most was that he didn’t wear a military uniform, but an expensive looking vest. The man wasn’t a soldier. At least not anymore.

“Oh what fire you have in your division, Fowler. He will be great, I can feel it,” the stranger said and his smirk didn’t falter an inch as he approached Gavin. His eyes were fixated on the soldier, not letting his opposite out of his sight. It felt like his gaze was piercing the other man.

“And who the phck are you?” Gavin hissed through his teeth. He didn’t like how the stranger looked at him and that he seemed to have that smirk carved onto his face. It made the hairs stand up from his arm.

“REED!! That’s it, you crossed the line! You-“

“It’s alright,” the man interrupted the leader of the fifth division. He raised his hand to signalize Fowler to hold it without breaking his stare.

Gavin couldn’t believe his boss complied with the order some random guy had given him. No matter how much he had fought with his superior before, not even he had dared to cut in on what Fowler was saying in all his years. And Fowler sure wouldn’t tolerate it. That he wasn’t speaking up now showed what a high cheese the stranger must be, probably a noble or some shit.

The soldier crossed his arms in front of his chest and returned the gaze just as fierce. If that asshole wanted to have a stare-contest, he could have it.

The grin cocked before the stranger averted his eyes from Gavin and directed them towards the small crowd.

“Excuse me for not introducing myself, where are my manners. My name is Elijah Kamski, I’m the commander of ‘those freaks’.” His eyes quickly jumped back to Gavin, though only for a second. “Or how we call them, titan shifters.”

A murmur went through the group of soldiers and their eyes grew big as they recognized the leader of the ominous project ‘Shifter’. Not a lot was known about him, just that he was rich and played in the upper league, like in the really high ranks. He stood in direct contact with the Queen and had been personally gifted by her with a lot of land for his abstruse experiments with people they called shifters. The project was top secret, no details had reached the outside so far. Only thing the public had caught sight of was a 15-meter titan calmly walking along the border of the abandoned town Kamski used as a base for his project. Connor, how they called the shifter, was the showpiece of the man’s work and always appeared whenever his commander had to give interviews, demonstrating how he reacted consciously. What happened behind closed doors however, no one knew. Gavin didn’t trust the whole thing an inch. He could still remember a few years back when the city had trembled under his feet. A lot of people had thought it to be an earthquake, but the soldiers knew it came from the shifter base. Kamski had assured that everything was under control, but Gavin wouldn’t have believed him if he told him that his hair was brown. That project was a risk. Monsters inside the walls, people transforming into beasts at will amongst them. Nonetheless people trusted in it, saw it as the hope to reconquer some of their lost land. Bullshit.

“I asked commander Fowler to concentrate his troops and pick the best soldiers he knew. That means you, my dear ladies and gentlemen. The reason you stand here today, is that you are the best of the best,” Kamski continued. “A question, yes?”

Someone had raised their hand in the back of the room.

“If you need the best soldiers there are, why didn’t you look in the military police brigade?”

“Good question, good question!” The man folded his hands behind his back. “I don’t have use for cowards hiding behind the walls.”

You could have dropped a needle and it would have still been audible in the silence the room had fallen to. Those words were common amongst survey corps soldiers, but outside of that the military police held the highest rank. Nobody dared to insult them openly.

“What I need are men and women who know what to do when facing a real titan. I need people with experience and courage, people that have proven themselves in unimaginable situations other humans wouldn’t dare to think about. You all lived through what the people behind the walls only dream about in their worst nightmares. And you survived it with skills achieved in years and years of duty.”

Gavin knew what that showboat was doing. He wanted to flatter the soldiers to make them more willing to join his cause.

“Yeah, and you know what? In all those years we gathered quite some savvy. Do you seriously believe we would leave our divisions for a suicide commando after just some honeyed words?”

In the corner of his eye, the soldier could see Fowler rub his face with both hands. Kamski however, just turned around to him and smiled.

“Oh, you don’t comprehend my objective, Mr. Reed. This isn’t a request. It’s an order.”

Gavin felt his face drain from color, causing the other to smile even wider.

“Whose order?”

“Mine. And the Queen’s.”

The door fell close with a loud thump behind Gavin as he entered the dorm, causing the others to lift their heads. Tina rose immediately the moment she saw her friend’s expression, lips pressed into a thin line and hands curled into fists.

“What happened? What did they say?”

Without saying a word, the grim soldier passed her and started packing the few things around his bed.

“Gavin, why are you packing your stuff?” Chris asked, now concern audible in his voice. “Talk to us, please.”

Gavin froze in his motion, both of his friends staring at his tensed back when his shoulders slumped down.

“I … I am leaving.”

“What?!” the others called out with one voice.

“They can’t just throw you out! You’re the best soldier in our division, together with Hank! They cannot withdraw you like that!”

“Hank is also leaving,” Gavin added in a monotone voice and he was glad his friends couldn’t see his face right now.

Chris and Tina remained silent at that. When the woman laid a hand on her friend’s shoulder a few seconds later, he almost flinched away. Gavin didn’t want to leave his squad. He didn’t want to bail and leave them behind, not knowing what would become of them. But Kamski’s voice still rang in his ears, telling him what would happen if he refused to join the shifter project: _You can either come along and maybe return to your beloved division if you shouldn’t fit our purposes, or you can refuse and be kicked out of the military in a dishonorable discharge, eliminating your chances to ever wear this uniform again. Do you want that, Officer Reed?_

The soldier gritted his teeth, clenching his jaw forcefully.

“Gavin, tell us what happened.”

With a deep sigh, he turned around to face both their worried faces. “It’s Kamski.”

“Kamski? That leader of the weird project in the abandoned part of town?” Chris came a step closer, brows drawn together in a disbelieving manner.

“Yes, that Kamski. He came with an order from the very top to recruit the best soldiers of all divisions for his cause. That means all Officers, including the Lieutenant.”

Gavin had seen Anderson’s face. His direct superior hadn’t said anything, but it was apparent that he didn’t approve Kamski’s actions at all.

“Are you kidding me?! They can’t just come here and strip us of our leaders! The survey corps doesn’t have that many members to begin with, not to mention the highest mortality rate in the entire military! We need every person we can get!!”

The Officer gripped his few belongings tighter at Chris’ words. He was right. But that didn’t change anything unfortunately.

Composing himself, Gavin turned around and regarded his small team with a smile. Technically he was their superior, but in reality he knew he would have never made it this far without these two. He wouldn’t even be alive anymore as he lost count of the times they had saved each other’s arses out there. Without Tina’s skill or Chris’ strategic management, he never would have had the chance to build himself a reputation as the most reckless soldier of the regiment with the highest kill count, leader of the smallest and most successful squad their division had.

“You know that if I had a say in this, I would never set a foot near that godforsaken area.” He placed a hand on Chris’ shoulder and squeezed lightly. “I am sure I will be back in no time, as soon as they notice I won’t fit in their little experiments.” Turning towards his female friend with a reassuring smile, he continued. “Tina, you’re in charge as long as I’m gone. Listen to each other and don’t do anything risky.”

The newly appointed squad leader crossed her arms in front of the chest, despite the tears dwelling in her eyes.

“So you expect us not to do the same thing you always do?”

Gavin threw his bag over his shoulder and walked past both of them towards the exit, leaving behind an empty bunk.

“Exactly,” he said with a failed wink as he looked back. “Just ask yourself what I would do in that situation and … don’t do it.”

The former leader turned back and opened the door, knuckles white around the handle and reassuring smile fading from his face the second the others couldn’t see it anymore. He was halfway down the stairs of the porch in front of the small dorm, when he heard Tina call after him, anxiety audible in her voice.

“Gavin?!” The soldier stopped, but he didn’t look back. “Whatever they expect you to do over there … don’t die.”

The walls around the man’s heart tightened and he had to take a deep breath to prevent the feeling from overtaking him.

“You neither,” he replied before making his way towards the cart waiting for him, leaving behind the only other two people left alive of his training corps division, who had become his family over fighting alongside him for the last fifteen years.

The carriage rumbled over the uneven street as they neared the abandoned town on the outskirts of Wall Rose. Ever since the attack on Wall Maria and the crushing of the city gates twenty years ago, people avoided getting close to the wall separating them from the titans on the outside. They had left their villages in the countryside to move behind the safety of the city walls, abandoning their old settlements in the process. On their way to the outpost used as Kamski’s base, they had passed several ruinous houses and empty huts, once owned by the people working on the fields. Now the fear was too great to live out here, even with Wall Rose still separating them from the monsters on the other side.

When the town wall around the abandoned settlement came into sight, the majority of the soldiers started to whisper to each other. Everyone was tensed in a mixture of curiosity and concern, due to being left in the dark. Even Anderson looked like he was creeped out when they passed the gate and entered empty streets, lined with slowly decaying facades.

“Welcome to Veraen!”

The conversations died down immediately as Kamksi rose his voice while riding past them to take the lead.

“He’s joking, right?” Gavin asked quietly as they drove past a building that looked like it had been smashed by something heavy. “These are ruins!”

Anderson, who sat across from his subordinate, kicked the soldiers shin to shut him up, earning him an angry glare.

“Can’t you ever keep your mouth shut? You’ll get us all in trouble,” the Lieutenant murmured under his breath.

“Oh are you scared old man?”

Hank didn’t deign to look at the other while scanning their surroundings. Before Gavin could lash out again though, he turned back.

“Instead of bringing about a quarrel, you could pay attention to where we are for once.”

In that moment they came across what must have been the market square once, now equipped with heavy weapons and nets. The fountain in the middle had been smashed into pieces and some of the house roofs showed serious damage.

“What the hell?”

_Did one of these monsters do this?_

They didn’t get a lot of time to gape at the scene before it disappeared behind more houses. Ahead of them a big building rose out of the ground, thick stone walls and a moat separating it from the rest of the town, aside from a draw bridge that connected both riparian. The tall structure looked like an old city hall.

“There we are!” Kamski exclaimed, dismounting his horse and pressing the reins into a soldier’s hand. “The center of Veraen! All our missions are coordinated from here and you will find the dorms here as well. You have ten minutes to bring your belongings to your rooms, then we will meet in the hall again. I bet you’re all eager to get more information about what we need you for.”

The last sentence was said with one of those sneers again, sending chills down Gavin’s back. This had to spell trouble.

“Gavin, quit it.” Anderson’s voice ripped the soldier out of his thoughts, who only now noticed he had been glaring at Kamski’s back.

The older man had already climbed off the cart and his subordinate followed him, gripping the strap of his bag tighter as he vaulted over the edge. Eying the stakes surrounding the building warily, he joined the group.

A blond woman in uniform waved the new arrivers over and signalized them to follow her. When she turned, Gavin could make out the survey corps’ sign on the back of her cloak, two wings crossing each other. As he didn’t recognize her face from any of the other divisions though, she had to be working for the shifter project for a long time.

“Your rooms are on the second floor. Please just leave your bags there, but don’t unpack anything yet. The chosen ones will get a different room after the test. Leave the cloaks for now, you won’t be needing them. I await you in the hall in ten minutes with your equipment.”

Everyone looked at each other a bit confused, but they complied with her instructions. They were soldiers after all. They were used to follow orders.

Gavin joined the throng with an annoyed grunt, ascending the stairs to the hall that had been reserved for the soldiers. Cots had been arranged for them, signalizing that the majority of them wouldn’t stay for long. If that was a good or a bad sign was still to be found out. What the hell did they need survey corps soldiers for when they had literal titan shifters?

A few minutes later, they all gathered in the big hall at the bottom of the stairs once more, Officers and Lieutenants whispering to each other. Gavin chose to cross his arms in front of his chest and observe the female soldier and Kamski in front of them, not letting them out of his sight.

“Alright, I bet all of you are curious about the reason you are here. It’s about time you get to know more,” the commander opened his speech with a cocky grin. His fancy vest rustled as he moved. “Of course we can’t give you all detail right now, that will be reserved for the chosen ones, but don’t you worry. We will give you enough information to deal with the test.”

“What kind of phcking test? Are we back in the training corps or what?!” Gavin had spoken quietly enough, but Hank stepped on his foot nonetheless. “Ouch, dude, what the fuck?!”

A withering glare from his superior was enough to shut the Officer up. For now.

At the front, the project leader continued while pacing up and down. “As you might know, our project explores the possibilities of so called titan shifters. Fifteen years ago their existence was discovered with the first transformation of a shifter called Connor. We managed to research a lot in those past years and used their potential for a great cause, reconquering territory lost to the titans. With the shifters’ abilities we were able to clear a lot of ground, making the project as successful as it is today. In the last years however, we noticed that we are even more effective when our shifters are partnered with soldiers, helping them to fulfill their duty. Unfortunately not everyone is suited for that kind of responsibility, it requires a special kind of compatibility for it to work. That’s why you are here today. The best of the best, Officers and Lieutenants experienced in combat, fighting for the humankind with their lives. I am sure there are no other men or women more suited to undergo this test and join our mission.”

Every expression fell from Gavin’s face at those words and he felt a disbelieving rage bubble up his throat. This couldn’t be the reason they had ordered them all to leave their divisions!! They had to be kidding!

Pushing through the crowd, he moved to the front.

“Excuse me, but what the actual phck?! You’re seriously withdrawing the best soldiers from the front to _babysit your shifters_?!” He heard Anderson curse somewhere behind him, but he didn’t care.

“If you want to put it like that, then yes.” Kamski just smiled as he regarded the furious Officer, firing up his rage.

“Listen here, you arrogant asshole!” Gavin stomped closer, but the commander didn’t move an inch. The only movement he detected was the blond woman pulling her blade out of the sheath a bit. “I didn’t work my ass off my whole life to end up in this shithole! If you don’t have a better use for our abilities, let us go back to the front where we’re actually needed!!”

Kamski’s smile widened.

“Of course, Mr. Reed. Everyone in this room that doesn’t link themselves with a titan is free to return to their division at dawn. As there are only three shifters that need to be partnered, that should include most of you.” A mischievous glint flickered through the man’s eyes for a moment. “Though I heard that some of you have already collected experience with titan shifters in their past.”

Gavin almost let his control over his face slip, but he managed to composed himself last second. That dickhead was just playing with them, testing their endurance. The soldier only had to get this stupid trial over with and he would be on his way back to his squad. At least that was a ray of hope.

“My assistant will tell you the detail about the test. I wish you all good luck.” With that Kamski nodded in their direction one last time before turning around and disappearing down the hallway.

“Follow me please,” the blond woman exclaimed and the crowd slowly started to move after her. She walked up a set of stairs with long strides, cloak rustling behind her. Despite her delicate appearance, her voice was loud enough to reach even the last people following her. “My name is Chloe and I will supervise the test you’re about to undergo. We want to see if any of you are compatible with our shifters, meaning that a few of you will probably form a link, a deeper connection with them. Experience has shown that we can determine that best in battle.”

A murmur went through the crowd at her words, right when they reached the top of the stairs leading onto a roof. Chloe continued further with her 3D-maneuver gear, swinging herself onto the next roof across the street. The soldiers followed her suit.

“We didn’t select you for nothing. To pass this test, you need experience, courage and skill.” Turning around with a serious gaze, she faced the group behind her. “Until now you were the best of the best, you fought against countless titans and always succeeded. But what you are about to face now, is very different from all those brainless creatures you fought out there. Let’s see how you compete against intelligent titans. And be warned. They won’t hold back.”

Shortly after Chloe had said that, Gavin felt the earth tremble beneath his feet. He knew what this meant and the others recognized the sign as well.

Turning around, he heard his fellow Officers gasp at the sight in front of them. On the other side of the abandoned town, three titans emerged from the streets.

As they stood in the distance, it wasn’t easy to determine their exact height, but comparing them to the buildings around, they all had to at least measure 13 meters.

One of the titans seemed to be female, height smaller than the others but her skin glistened in the sun from some kind of layer covering her. It seemed like her muscle was exposed, showing red fibers and white tendons. Long brown hair fell into her face, but the set of teeth bared on the lower half of her face promised to be deadly. The titan to her left was a bit taller, hair short and falling in a way they all recognized. _Connor._ The only shifter people had caught sight of.

The last titan was almost the spitting image of the famous specimen, if it weren’t for him towering even over the other two titans. Light skin, strong muscles prominent below and short brown hair covering his head. When Gavin squinted, its color seemed to be a bit darker than Connor’s and he could make out a strand falling into the titan’s forehead. The ivories shone white and sharp in the sun as no lips covered them.

With an earsplitting roar, the three titans started to move towards them with large strides, causing the earth to shake below the soldiers’ feet.

“Oh phck me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it so far and let me know your thoughts! <3


	3. Hey big boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey and welcome back! Gavin first comes into contact with titan shifters and our boys meet for the first time. Enjoy!  
> The dear [Xan](https://twitter.com/hanguanw) made a beautiful [artwork](https://www.instagram.com/p/CDiw6gkjAyZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link) in the past that I tried to integrate here. Go check it out!

The first soldiers began to move, either jumping down the roofs towards the titans or scattering in opposite directions to make it harder for them to find targets, while a small group remained on the roof they had been standing on to assess the situation. The three titans were still far away and distracted by the ones approaching so that there was a small timeframe to make plans. A few others were just staring ahead, eyes big in disbelief at the huge specimen, even larger than the biggest ones outside the walls.

When Gavin finally managed to pry his eyes loose from the shifters, he noticed Hank standing a few meters ahead of him, watching as if he was frozen in place.

“Hey old man, everything okay?”

The younger soldier walked up to the Lieutenant and eyed the man a little concerned. Anderson’s face was hard to read, but his eyes were big and flickered left and right as they followed the most famous shifter, Connor. The moment the Officer laid a hand on his shoulder, he jumped, surprised at the other’s presence.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah I’m fine.” Looking back at the scene in front of them, where the first soldiers had just reached the closest titan, Hank rolled his shoulders and drew his blades. “Can you believe there are actual people in there?”

Gavin followed his gaze to one of the roaring beasts slashing the buildings around it in an attempt to reach the surrounding attackers.

“No, not really. But we will see. We defeated a lot more outside the walls, this shouldn’t be worse. They are just taller and have a little more brain.” The frown on Anderson’s face didn’t want to disappear, causing his companion to nudge the man with his elbow before starting to run towards the edge of the roof to have enough momentum to swing himself over the chasm. “Big one’s mine! Come on, old man!”

Gavin didn’t see the Lieutenant’s reaction anymore as he was already swinging to the next roof, but a few seconds later he heard the other follow him.

The titan closest to the Officer was the female, currently ducking away from the attacks of the surrounding soldiers with swift moves. She grabbed a giant rock from one of the destroyed buildings and, in the same motion as she turned around, threw it at a distracted group of soldiers. The stone crashed into the roof only centimeters from the humans, now shouting in shock at the sudden counterattack. Gavin landed next to them, just in time to witness a smug expression flickering through that titan’s eyes. It really was conscious. There was somebody in there intendedly charging at them, aiming the assaults close enough to split them from another, but not precise enough to kill someone.

“You okay?” the soldier asked the small group, still panting from the shock of a rock almost smashing them.

“Y-Yeah,” one of them nodded, a tall red-headed girl he thought to remember from one of the higher divisions.

Gavin didn’t wait around long after checking on the group, he continued to pursue the fleeing shifter across the roofs. A feeling in his stomach told him that this wasn’t a hunt though. The titan was fast and although it looked like she was running from the people following her, the soldier knew she was in full control of the situation.

Right when he realized what she was doing, it was too late for the first row of pursuers however.

“Watch out!! She’s leading us into the crossfire!” Gavin yelled, but his words didn’t reach the front in time anymore.

The people closest to the titan had been so focused on reaching her, that they hadn’t noticed the second titan running towards them from the left. Connor crashed into them with full force, sending the majority flying through the air as they were thrown out of their path by the impact. Gavin managed to alter his direction last second, avoiding the collision by a hair’s breadth.

This had been a trap. The female titan had wanted them to pursue her into the open, fast enough not to be caught, but so slow the soldiers thought they could get her. Now she turned abruptly, roaring and eyes glinting. Her mouth contorted into something like a smile, teeth bared at the startled humans. Most of the people in the first row had just managed to catch themselves, breaking their fall with hooks bored into the surrounding stone walls. Some others hadn’t been that lucky and they crashed onto the roof tiles with disturbing cracking sounds, a trail left behind where they skidded across. A few sat up with pained grunts holding their backs from the impact, one threw up, probably because of a concussion and three remained limp on the ground as they had been knocked out from the fall.

“Shit,” Gavin cursed the moment he landed on a nearby rooftop. These men and women wouldn’t be able to continue the fight, reducing their numbers significantly. The shifters weren’t going to kill them, but they sure as hell didn’t hesitate to injure the soldiers. They had to come up with better strategies than just dashing off into the fight where the titans could take them down one by one.

The soldier cursed loudly as he jumped to safety, right before a fist smashed the place he had just been standing on. He wished Tina and Chris could be here right now, with his small team the coordination was perfect after years of working together. With them, his chance of taking the titans down would have been way better. But they weren’t here, he was surrounded by strangers, all picked from different divisions, all used to lead their squads. They didn’t have the time to meet up and discuss a strategy, so all there was left to do was making sure not to get hit and watch out for any of the other titans. Maybe if some distracted one of the shifters long enough, Gavin would get a chance to strike, but that solely depended on his luck.

Connor kept the majority of the soldiers busy, although the female wasn’t defeated either. The Officer noticed that one of his fellows that had been in the front row at the attack, had managed to avoid the lunge at them and passed the male titan without interruption. She was alone with the female titan now, a few meters off to where the rest of them were busy fighting off Connor.

Gavin quickly shot his hook to a chimney and swung himself past the deadly arms clearing the roofs with fast strikes, closer to where the female titan and the Officer faced each other. The dark-skinned woman just stood there, blades resting calmy in her hands and short hair messy from the wind while staring into the shifter’s eyes. Seemingly frozen in place, the titan returned the gaze just as intently.

A few other soldiers had noticed the scene to their right and started to join Gavin to come to the lonely Officer’s aid. The man heard a muffled scream somewhere behind him when the titan lunged at the still unmoving woman, roaring deafening as the beast focused on her target. They were too far away to intervene, but the soldier made no move to get out of the way of the attack, she just stood there and didn’t leave the shifter out of her sight. Gavin felt like the blood was freezing in his veins as he could only watch how the woman would be crushed in the next second.

Shortly before the titan’s fist came into contact with the Officer’s head, the shifter moved her arm a little to the side so that it crashed onto the beam of the roof instead of the human. Tiles and wood flew through the air at the raw force meeting the building, but the female soldier didn’t move a muscle, just continued to stare ahead into the shifter’s eyes.

What happened next, went against everything Gavin had known so far, against everything he thought to know about titans. The titan with the long hair retreated her hand and lowered herself onto the human’s level so that their faces were at the same height, fixated on each other like there was no one around them. A steady hum resonated from her throat as she came so close her vulnerable features were in reach of the soldier’s blades, yet it looked like she wasn’t worried about the human striking at all. Now that Gavin was close enough, he could make out a smile on the soldier’s lips as well while she stretched out a hand to touch the shifter’s cheek; she wasn’t afraid the slightest.

“I guess we have our first bond then.”

Turning his head to see who had said that, he noticed a tall Officer with blond hair next to him, watching the strange scene in front of them just like he had.

“Seriously? How are we supposed to know they won’t crush us like flies?! There was only a hair breadth left from killing her!” Gavin replied upset as he could still feel his heart race in his chest.

The other soldier shrugged. “I guess you just know. She knew.”

The smaller Officer followed the direction of the stranger’s nod with his eyes, where shifter and human seemed to form a silent connection.

“Fuck, this is crazy,” Gavin grumbled before turning around and walking back towards the second titan that still fought off several groups of soldiers. They needed his help more than that woman now.

Leaving the others behind, he swung himself back to the big central place which seemed to have suffered from older damage caused even before this day. Connor stood in the middle of it, surrounded by the survey corps on the roofs that were too far from the titan’s body for the blades to reach, but close enough that their hooks could latch onto the opposite side. Nobody dared to cross the distance though as the destroyed ropes around the growling shifter made it pretty obvious that he wouldn’t let anyone pass. All soldiers just stared at him, unsure what to do about the situation.

“What’s the matter, why aren’t you attacking?” Gavin’s question startled one of the men he landed behind, making him flinch at the sudden voice. He turned around with a scared expression marking his features.

“He won’t let us use our 3D maneuver gears. Every time we try to use them, he destroys the wires before we can make a move on him.”

“Then attack from more than one side, goddammit.” Right when Gavin was about to shoot his hooks, the other soldier held him back on his shoulder.

“Wait, he is way too nimble for that! He just dodged five attacks at the same time and almost crushed two people!”

The Officer stopped with a grunt, head turning back to the front where Connor had already prepared to lunge at him, a challenging glint in his giant brown eyes. If he attacked now, he would definitely end like those unconscious soldiers from earlier and he couldn’t risk that. Too many people around and he didn’t have the element of surprise on his side. With the shifter being as attentive and agile as the rest had told him, he didn’t stand a chance against Connor without a plan.

The situation was too bogged down for him to be able to do something about it, making him decide that it would be best to move on for now and wait for a better opportunity to present itself.

Gavin swung himself to a roof a few meters away from the crowd, eyes scanning his surroundings for that third titan. He didn’t need to search long before the giant outline came into sight, tall and intimidating next to the buildings surrounding him. It looked like the titan was lashing out at something the soldier couldn’t see from this far away, but probably were others trying to either connect with or defeat the beast. The closer he got, the better he could make out the shifter’s appearance. He had pale white skin that stood out against the grey wall behind him, just like his ‘almost twin’ Connor, but his hair seemed to be slightly darker. Apart from the impressive height, Gavin could already see a row of razor-sharp teeth glistening in the sun.

Screams and shouts somewhere behind him made the Officer turn his head quickly to where he had been coming from. In mid-flight, he could only see someone rushing past the agile titan, apparently someone who had decided Connor’s games were enough. As fast as he could, he landed on a nearby rooftop to take a better look at the scene and decide if he should turn back and help whatever idiot decided it was a good idea to cross the distance between the houses on their own. Connor was way too fast for one person alone, he would just destroy the wires, causing that poor fool to fall to his death or smash against a wall. The bystanders didn’t dare to intervene as they just stared ahead in shock, shouts of surprise silenced completely now. It was like the whole group held their breath, condemned to just watch what would happen.

At the distance Gavin had brought between him and the others, it was hard to make out the person completely, but he would have recognized that silhouette anywhere by now. His superior and Lieutenant swung himself past the shifter, dodging the hands reaching out to catch him. Every time Connor tried to rip the hooks securing Anderson out of the walls, the man was fast to unlock them and shoot the next one towards one of the gutters. Even when the shifter managed to dislodge all the hooks and wires, theoretically taking away all of the human’s support, Hank had the following ready to break his fall.

_For phck’s sake, what are you doing old man?_

Gavin’s thought went unheard as he stared at the scene in shock. Never in his life had he seen the Lieutenant do something that risky. Anderson was a great soldier, there was no doubt about it, but his strength laid with planning, strategizing, leading. Fast paced attacks like this weren’t his specialty and the younger soldier couldn’t understand what had caused his superior to change his behavior that drastically all of a sudden. Hank was calm, calculated, never rushing into battle that easily.

Gavin felt his hands clutch the handles of his blades harder as he was sure his companion would be ripped out of the air any second now, with him not being able to do something about it from this far away. But somehow, that moment didn’t come. Anderson moved faster than ever before, moves quick in reacting to Connor’s actions and evading every lunge in his direction. He even got as provocative as to rush past the titan’s ear once, blades close to the other’s skin but only to demonstrate that he could have cut Connor if he had wanted to. The dread Gavin had felt a few seconds ago turned into silent admiration at the Lieutenant’s skills and he was sure that the man knew what he was doing. There was something in Anderson’s and Connor’s moves, something that almost made the fight look more like a strange dance, a dance of shining blades and attacking fists. They moved as if they knew exactly what the other would do next, a choreography of action and reaction, gyrating around each other in a race to catch the other. The more the Officer looked at them, the more it seemed like they were synchronizing until even the last mistakes of their performance were eliminated.

And just like that, it stopped. As if they had decided it was enough, both of them came to a halt, Connor dropping his attacks and Hank landing on the edge of a roof, though still not letting each other out of their sight. The titan reached out and opened his palm like an invitation.

Gavin couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Anderson calmly stepped forward onto the shifter’s hand and let himself be raised to the other’s face level. How could a soldier with that much experience be reckless enough to go willingly into a death trap like a titan’s hand?! Though the crush of bones never came. Connor’s finger remained open, not closing around the vulnerable human on his palm. Lieutenant and shifter just continued to fixate each other like there wasn’t a giant crowd staring at them in disbelief.

That was when Gavin grasped what had happened. Anderson and the titan had bonded, linked, synchronized or whatever weird term was used by project shifter. He was too far away to hear if Connor produced any sound like the female titan had, but he was sure that whatever was happening between the two, they were forming a connection.

Taking a deep breath, the soldier pried his eyes loose from the scene unfolding several hundred meters away from his position, trying to refocus on his task. _Two done, one to go._

As he made his way through the streets closer to that last titan remaining, Gavin desperately tried to clear his head. So the Lieutenant would stay. He was one of the few that seemed compatible with one of the shifters, binding him to the project and making it impossible to return to the division. The soldier couldn’t imagine the eighty-seventh without a Lieutenant Anderson. How could this have happened? Hank hated titans. After the death of his son even more than the Officer himself. And yet he had bonded with one. He couldn’t grasp it. All he wanted now was to get this over with, so that he could return home to his squad as soon as possible.

Over his thoughts Gavin almost overlooked the first bodies lying on the roofs around him, still and lifeless as if they were part of the environment. The sight ripped him out of his rumination so abruptly that he nearly forgot to shoot the next hook, causing him to all but lose his balance and fall down the chasm gaping beneath him. He only just caught himself and managed to redirect his path onto the closest roof, heart racing and breath coming in fast shallow puffs. Not allowing himself to rest though, he stumbled forward to the unconscious soldier ahead of him.

It was a young woman, maybe in her late twenties, blonde hair clinging to her forehead from the blood seeping out of a wound. Young, but undoubtedly skilled, otherwise she wouldn’t be here. Still, Gavin gritted his teeth at the thought of burning up rookies, just so that Kamski could find some babysitters for his monsters.

Carefully inspecting the cut on the other soldier’s forehead, he cursed and started to rip off a part of his uniform to press it onto the slash. She must have incurred it from falling onto the roof full of shattered tiles.

With a hiss, she awoke from her blackout, arm darting up to touch the stinging wound, but only touching Gavin’s hand. Surprised, her eyes opened, only for her to groan in pain and press them close again.

“Shh, don’t move, you probably have a pretty bad concussion.” Guiding her hand onto the piece of cloth, he let go of the improvised compress. Head wounds always bled like hell. “What happened?”

“Titan.” Her breath came heavy, but it seemed more out of pain than further injuries. “Way stronger…than expected. Took us down…with only one hit.”

Gavin raised his head at that, but what his eyes caught sight of, made the blood freeze in his veins. The roofs were covered in groups and groups of injured soldiers, most of them unconscious, the rest moaning in agony. Around them they were relatively few, but the closer you got to the titan, the more people you could make out. Some even laid on the ground, down in the streets, some others dangled limply on their maneuver gears where they had just managed to attach their hooks.

Hot anger flared up in Gavin at the sight of his neutralized companions, all beaten down without mercy. Who did those assholes think they were?! This wasn’t training or some fucked up ‘pairing ceremony’. This was slaughter. Those things were nothing other than monsters. And Kamski had let them loose upon them.

“Bastard,” he hissed through his teeth as he stood up from his place next to the wounded soldier. She would live. It hurt like a bitch, but she would live. He just wondered how many of them would as well.

When he launched his grappling hooks towards the next building, he was held back by a silent caw.

“Be careful. Don’t get close.”

The grim expression on Gavin’s face only darkened as his eyes fixated the titan several streets ahead of him. “I’m not really known for being careful.”

With that he jumped down the building, wind tugging on his clothes and hair during the fall before the turning point catapulted him upwards. In only a few seconds, he had picked up so much speed, he had to blink away tears springing to his eyes from the wind, yet he didn’t stop one second as he got closer and closer to his target.

It was empty around the titan. All soldiers in the area had been defeated or fled the scene the moment they had noticed it was pointless. The rest of them was still over by Connor, probably only now realizing that there was one more titan left and making their way to this scene of devastation.

Gavin didn’t care. He didn’t care that he was alone. He didn’t care that his chances were likely zero. The fury drove him further, onwards in that dipshit’s direction.

His blades cut through skin and flesh like butter, hacking away a big chunk of the titan’s triceps and steam began to rise from the wound. The shifter hadn’t heard the soldier coming, back turned towards the man, but as he felt the attack, he whipped around and trained his eyes on the human landing on the roof in front of him, now wearing a mean smirk on his face.

“Hey big boy.”

This close, the titan appeared even taller, towering over Gavin with an intimidating presence and throwing his shadow over the buildings ahead of him as he blocked the sun with his massive outline. Just like Connor’s skin, his was speckled with freckles here and there, some on his limbs as well as a few on his face. Plates of some white hard material covered the area above the titan’s eyes and stretched up to the hairline in a triangular shape. A strand of dark hair fell into his forehead, only slightly curling inwards at the very end. Its soft appearance contrasted with the rows of teeth displayed above the titan’s jaw, like a maniacal grin carved into his face. What struck the soldier the most though, was what distinguished the shifter from his lookalike. Where Connor had dark brown doe eyes, this titan looked down on Gavin with ice-blue irises that caused something cold to run down his back. The color reminded him of when the lake froze over in the coldest days of winter, right between a light blue and a silvery grey. The pupils were formed to thin slits, giving him an even more predator-like appearance.

“I see you had your fun s-“

Before Gavin could finish his sentence, a giant hand crushed the crest and he only just managed to roll out of the way. Gasping and cursing, the soldier slid down the roof tiles, hands darting out to catch himself before he could tumble down the edge to his own death. Splinters flew around him, hitting his face and cutting the skin open in several places, though luckily missing his eyes. The tile shards boring themselves into his hands hurt like hell, but his instincts overpowered the urge to let go, ignoring the pain flaring up. Gavin’s intestines turned as his body crossed the edge and he could grab onto the rain gutter just in time before plummeting down the ten-meter drop opening under his feet like hungry jaws.

“Oh shit.” His breath came heavy while his fingers desperately held onto the metal, muscles quivering from holding his weight together with the shock of being almost sent down the roof to the hard cobblestone of the street below.

This hadn’t been an attack like those of the other titans, who precisely aimed to knock them off without using their full strength to make sure the soldiers wouldn’t die. This blow would have killed him if he hadn’t evaded it last second. Where Gavin had stood only moments ago, now flaunted a giant hole in the crushed rooftop, crest dashed to shivers and broken tiles bursting into shards beneath the soldier’s feet.

At the sudden attack, the soldier had dropped his blades to catch himself in the fall, but now they laid out of reach on top of the crest. One of them trembled under the impact and started to slide down the roof towards the edge, yet too far away for Gavin to catch it. He desperately tried to reach for it with one hand, but he wasn’t close enough and his fingers only closed around empty air as the blade disappeared below him.

“No no no no, PHCK!”

Frantically staring after his weapon and down the drop he was dangling over, he swallowed hard and tried to redirect his concentration towards pulling himself up to safety. Right when he raised his head, Gavin saw that giant hand rush towards him, aiming to grab and pull him off the gutter. Quickly turning to the side, he managed to escape the fingers breaking through the wall, though he had to let go with one hand and the full weight on one of his arms made him grunt from the strain. He couldn’t waste that much time with thinking, he needed to act if he didn’t want to fall down this five-storey building. Swinging back a bit, he used the momentum to lift himself up and pull his upper body onto the remains of the roof, just in time before the rain gutter gave way to the destruction, falling down the chasm and hitting the ground with a loud clatter. Gavin panted heavily and his arms burned from having to hold his weight on a piece of rusty metal, skin on his hands grazed and bleeding out of several cuts. It didn’t matter. He had to keep going. Now that he wasn’t about to plummet down the roof anymore, the anger returned full force, making him whip around to the shifter still looming above him.

“Have you lost your mind?! You almost killed me!!”

The titan didn’t show the slightest reaction to his words as he struck out again, aiming to squash the human like an annoying insect. This time though, Gavin was prepared. He jumped out of the way and ran up the roof to where he could see his remaining blade, metal shining in the sun. His hands closed around the handle, but he didn’t stop running as he had to get away from that roof. He managed to swing to one a bit farther away from the titan’s grasp and hopefully out of reach for the moment. It gave him enough time to get a short look at his opponent, already starting to pursue him with large strides.

His eyes. For some reason they seemed strangely familiar, but Gavin couldn’t say where from. All he knew was that they made the hairs stand up from his skin as he _felt_ them, even when his back was turned towards the shifter.

He jumped towards the next roof, dodging the attack destroying the house he had been standing on. The titan released a frustrated roar, loud enough to shatter glass and so earsplitting, Gavin had to cover his ears. For a second, he caught sight of the inside of the titan’s mouth, sharp ivories lining a cobalt-blue tongue inside the gigantic jaws.

Those ice-colored eyes followed every of his moves and as they focused on his frame, needle-thin pupils filled with something wild, he knew this titan was out for his life. Gavin could see there was something deeper than just that absent stare normal titans had, but even though there was someone inside, he was sure that that someone was out of control. This titan shifter had gone feral, unleashing all his strength at the humans around him and destroying everything in his path.

“So you want it the hard way. Fine! But I warn you, I can be a real pain in the ass!!” he yelled in the monster’s direction, anger fueling his determination to end this beast’s killing spree.

Jumping from roof to roof, he evaded the titan’s attempts at catching him, despite those fingers brushing the rim of his uniform not only once. With only one blade left, it was nearly impossible to get a good strike at his opponent, not to speak of getting behind him in the first place.

Changing to his maneuver gear, Gavin catapulted himself into the open to gain more speed. This titan was way faster than the others due to his long legs, but his moves weren’t as precise and coordinated as Connor’s. The smaller titan’s attacks had been swift like a snake darting out, but his twin’s were way stronger, maybe because he wasn’t holding back. The giant specimen was a raw, unleashed force, not caring about the destruction he left in his path nor if he injured himself. Hot steam rose from his knuckles as the flesh tried to heal in between the assaults, muscle and ligaments reduced to bare bone from the impact upon stone. He didn’t seem to be bothered by that though, only continuing to lunge out and destroy, the bloodlust audible in his furious roars.

Gavin managed to escape, but the hits came closer and closer, painfully reminding him that he couldn’t do this forever. His stamina was one of his greatest attributes, but even his would run out at this pace, not being able to land on a roof for more than a few seconds. The soldier gritted his teeth to the point it hurt, yet it helped him to focus on his next moves. If his concentration slipped for only a second, he would find himself dead, crushed to a splatter of blood by those giant fists.

What he hadn’t expected though, was the titan to be learning.

He was midair when he felt the pull on one of the ropes, yanking him back and out of his path as if he was a yoyo. The sudden change of direction made the soldier lose his orientation immediately, but in that heart stopping moment he could only think of the times he had played with the small wooden toy, bouncing it up and down on a string. He didn’t know what was happening, but he felt exactly like that simple toy must have felt. His guts turned as G-forces pulled on his body, those giant hands dragging him through the air on a string. The belt on his hips and the leather straps around his thighs painfully cut into his flesh at the momentum and a short cry left his mouth as he felt himself falling, spinning, yanked in a direction he couldn’t tell anymore. Up and down weren’t distinguishable by now and his head hummed from the force, feeling like a whiplash while his brain was pushed against the inside of his skull. Everything in front of his eyes was swimming, blurred into one big mass of colors, sometimes blue, sometimes grey, depending if he was facing the sky or the concrete below. He knew he had to do something or he would smash onto the ground or a wall any second now.

With an angry cry, he reached for his maneuver gear and unlocked the hook that he had been grabbed by. As he wasn’t tied to the hook anymore, his body was flung in some direction and while he tried to recollect himself, it suddenly became pretty clear what direction it was he was going.

“Dammit!”

The hard ground rushed closer and that horrible feeling of free falling pulled on his insides. Desperately trying to break his fall, he shot the remaining hook towards one of the surrounding buildings. It was enough not to let him smash onto the floor, but the outside of one of his legs scraped the ground, stones ripping through the fabric of his pants and cutting open the skin beneath. As soon as he landed on the roof, away from the deadly floor, he hissed from the stinging pain, despite knowing that the titan wouldn’t allow him to rest for long.

He was right. Gavin hadn’t even made it to his feet again when the next blow was directed his way. This time though, he felt it coming. Right before the titan’s fist could collide with the surface, the Officer sensed a strange pull in his guts, something telling him to roll to the side immediately. Gavin didn’t hesitate, he threw himself to the right so that the attack missed him by a hair’s breadth. He was up and running before the shifter had time to realize what had happened.

That was when the soldier felt that something had changed. Both of them stared at each other, startled for a second, but when the titan lunged out, Gavin _knew_ it. Every time his opponent tried to get him, he felt that strange sensation in the middle of his stomach again, telling him where the giant would direct his attacks next. Whatever this weird intuition was, the Officer didn’t get to question it as the shifter kept him busy, incessantly charging and making the human flee over the roofs. Angry growls and roars behind his back told him that the beast was getting frustrated, but it seemed to know exactly where he was heading next, there was no point in hiding. It was like the titan could sense him just as much as Gavin could feel the titan.

The world around them didn’t seem to exist anymore. It was just the two of them, trapped in an endless game of attacks and avoidance, moving back and forth until one of them would pass out from exhaustion. The blue-eyed titan was panting, something Gavin had never seen a normal titan do. His own breath matched the other’s, muscles tired and trembling, but he ignored it, his mind determined on taking this titan down. The surroundings started to blur, disregarded as his eyes were trained on the target in front of him in a kind of trance that directed all of his focus onto the titan. Blood rushed in his ears, heart beating up his throat and the adrenaline in his veins kept him moving forward, jumping, running, backing away. He had enough of it. If this continued, they would never end this dance of death, fighting until one of them couldn’t stand up straight anymore.

“Stop it!” The titan didn’t of course, making Gavin’s yell fall on deaf ears.

In a surge of adrenaline rushing through him, he dashed forward with a scream just as earsplitting as the titan’s, latching his hook onto the arm that had hit the place next to him and pulling himself up with the momentum. The shifter seemed surprised as the human hadn’t tried to attack him before, but he reacted quickly, other palm trying to catch the soldier running up his forearm. Gavin felt it coming and he ducked down just before it could sweep him away. As he continued to run up the shoulder, that giant face turned towards him, glacier eyes meeting his own the moment he pushed himself off with enough force to send him flying.

A tiny part of his mind screamed, revolting against his actions that must lead to his own death without a doubt. He was reckless, sure. But never in his life had he been as reckless as jumping into a titan’s face, right where its most dangerous weapons waited to crush and devour him.

They were overpowered though the second his blade bored itself into the forehead of the shifter. It stuck in that white skin, giving him something to hold onto while he propped his feet right below one of those giant eyes to support his weight.

“Hey you giant dipshit!! You stop this RIGHT NOW!”

Gavin awaited the next blow, but it never came. The titan just stared at him, fixating the human in front his eye. And suddenly, his pupils dilated to a large circle, round and so black Gavin could see his own reflection staring back at him, beaten up and panting, but alive.

A rush of emotions caused him to gasp for air as if he had been hit in the solar plexus. Confusion. Relief. Subsiding anger. Fear. Guilt. Surprise. Everything crashed into him at once and even though he shared the majority of these emotions, he knew they weren’t his own. Something he hadn’t felt in years reached out to him, something like a breeze brushing his mind, gentle and yet tearing down the wall surrounding his thoughts. He felt himself automatically stretch out for that something, a feeling of connection creating a bridge to another being’s soul.

The whole time they hadn’t let each other out of their sight, not breaking eye contact even once, but when the titan released a low hum, Gavin awoke from his trance. Perplexed at what had just happened, he didn’t even resist when two large fingers grabbed him by the rim of his jacket to put him down on the closest roof. That was when the Officer realised that they were surrounded by other people, shocked looking soldiers staring at the scene in front of them from a safe distance.

The titan shifter closed his eyes as steam began to rise from his skin, coming out of every pore and emitting such a heat, the human had to cover his face with his arm for a moment. Inside the clouds, Gavin could barely make out the outline of the titan, slowly shrinking and crumbling away. The soldier stared in disbelief as chunks of flesh came off the bones, the whole body falling apart piece by piece. He could hear some of the other soldiers whisper somewhere behind him, but they were too far away to see what was happening in the street to Gavin’s feet.

The man couldn’t take his eyes off the remains that had just been a gigantic titan seconds ago, a beast he fought relentlessly coming undone in front of him. Staring at the center of steam, he suddenly noticed movement and when the fog started to clear away, he almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

There was someone coming out of the remnants of flesh and muscle, but not just anyone. Dark hair, white skin covered with freckles here and there and eyes the color of hoarfrost. A man he hadn’t seen for fifteen years. A man that had vanished without a trace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read! The mystery unfolds! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and especially comments are always welcome! Much love and stay safe everyone! <3


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